5 Aspirations for the New Decade
As 2019 winds down and we head into a new year / decade, I’ve found myself (like most) to be very retrospective lately. This year I’ve had to opportunity to travel to amazing place, make strides in my professional career, eat some fabulous food, and grow into more of the person I want to be.
While so much happened, both positive and negative, I’m looking forward to what is in store. So today I want to share with you 5 aspirations I have for the next decade and hopefully as the next few years tick by we’ll be able to come back to this post and see if my musings and dreams play out 😊Let’s dive right in!
5. Go to grad school
Now I’ve never particularly been a person who loved school. While I did well in my primary and undergraduate education, going to school always felt like a chore. Even deciding to prepare for grad school application process felt daunting in the beginning! But as I look to start on this journey I wanted to share (for any of you who might be considering a masters for yourself) that it’s always better to have optionality.
Especially for women in the workforce, it is always better to have more credentials than less. Unfortunately, we still live in a world without equal female representation, equal pay, or equal leadership opportunity. However, continuing your education can help to set you up for success in your future career pursuits. From changing career paths to preparing to re-enter the working world. Continued higher-education is extremely important (in my opinion) for strengthening your brand, widening your perspective, and expanding your network.
4. Work abroad / visit every continent
As many of you know, I LOVE to travel! I find it so fun to visit new place, learn about different cultures and taste food from around the globe. For those of you who are newer, I grew up as a third-culture kid. My mom was born and raised in Nigeria and my dad was born in raised in the UK. It’s fairly easy for me to get along with people from a variety of backgrounds, but I’d love to kick it up a notch in the next decade.
I’ve never worked overseas, and I think it would present a new and interesting way to immerse myself in a different culture. The closest I’ve gotten was studying abroad in Milan for ~5 months during undergrad.
In addition to working internationally, I’d also love to step foot on every continent. I’ve a long way to go but look forward to the challenge. Let me know if you have any specific travel recommendations / tips for: South America, Australia, or Antartica!!
3. Buy and decorate my own home
It’s always been a dream of mind to own my own property and decorate my home. In my old apartments I loved having people over to cook for them and host game / movie nights. There isn’t too much to say on this goal other than I hope and pray it becomes my reality over the next 10 years. I love having people over and the ‘nomadic’ life of consulting isn’t very conducive for that.
For those of you who also might be in your early / mid 20s, I feel like you might agree with me that this phase of life feels extremely transitional… I don’t by any means it was always this way. More likely, it is a by product of the generations that came before us and the way in which we were raise to focus on ‘living while we are young’ and ‘seeing the world prior to settling down’. And while I’m all for traveling to new destinations, I hope that to soon have a real home-base to call my own.
Anyways, that was a bit of a tangent, haha! When I was little, I used to go into my older sister’s room every week and reorganize her space. For years I wanted to be an interior decorator. While that career path was not what ended up being my path, I think that there is something special and comforting about being able to come home to your own space and make it into your unique and comfy home.
2. Foster stronger & healthier friendships
It’s been said a million+ times that you are who you surround yourself with. I recently had a conversation with my mom where I asked for general life advice and guidance for how to prioritize the rest of my 20s. One of her insights what to carefully pick who I exert my energy on. Now this isn’t rocket science or mind blowing news, but it was / is a great reminder of a truth that is often forgotten.
The older I get and the more that I start to see the bigger picture of what I’d like my life to look like, I’m beginning to realize that certain type of people and behaviors don’t fit into the vision. Not this isn’t necessarily because a friendship or relationship is inherently bad. Rather, it is important to weigh the cost, so to speak, on if a friendship is helping you to grown into who you are meant to be or holding you back from your dreams.
I know it can be hard to ‘close the chapter’ on some relationships - both platonic and romantic - but it can make a world of difference in your quality of life! I spoke a little be about this topic in one of my recent Tea Tuesdays, check it out here: Making, Maintaining & Losing Friends (7:10)
1. Dive deeper in my faith
Over the last 4 or so years, I haven’t spoken much about my faith on the blog, but it is something that is very important to me. Just like I’d want people to know that I love food, travel, Marvel movies etc.; I want to become more confident and bold in sharing about my faith. When something is important to you, you don’t hide it or live from a place of fear on sharing it.
I grew up in a Christian home and over the decades I have gone through many different seasons in my faith. It has not always been easy or clear from my point of view, but God has always been there to help and guide me through the most difficult times in my life. I would say that I’m not big on the act(s) of religion, but rather I prioritize belief and faith in God.
I’m grateful for all the wonderful role models and encouragers that have come into my life over the years (you know who you are!) and I look forward to being more confident in sharing this lens of my life. A massive blessing I had this year was being introduced to People Church in Wicker Park. For those of you who may have questions about God, Christianity, Jesus, feel free to check out some of the podcasts from People or drop me a message! Always happy to share about my journey on the faith road.